The Proposal
by RoxasAndEli
Summary: This is just a total makeover to Edward's proposal, with a different ring and a kind of remodeled plot!
1. The Proposal

Author's Note: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. They all belong to the one and only, Stephenie Meyer. I don't care what you Twilight haters have to say about this story, but I did this for myself, and for my fellow Twilighters. This is just a reinventing of Edward's proposal, with a new ring and a new setting and a new part of the plot. Thanks to the lovely and wonderful Dei-kunLovesDraco for the inspiration to write more stories! Much thanks to you, Dei! And with this, I present to you, the best story I've ever written to date, The Proposal.

Yellow. That was the first thing that registered in my mind as I gradually awoke from my dream-laced slumber. The inside of my eyelids were a clear, soft yellow. That could only mean on of two things: Either the sun was particularly bright this morning or it was _very _late in the day.

Cracking my eyes open, I winced at the bright sunlight pouring though my lace covered windows like a spotlight. Fighting the urge to grimace, I twisted my head to the right and thrust out my arm. Blindly, my fingers groped over the surface of my bedside table until they touched the smooth plastic of my clock radio. Slanting it towards me, I unwillingly lifted my head and blearily gazed at the red digits. My second option had been correct. It was ten in the morning.

Groaning, I closed my eyes again and rolled over… and frowned when something crackled softly under my head. Bewildered, I lifted myself up onto my forearms and squinted down at left corner of my pillow. A comprehending smile slowly stretched across my face.

The crackling noise that had alerted me was a – now slightly crumpled – piece of paper, on which a note was scrawled. Beside the note was a bouquet of roses, their warm, spicy scent reaching my nose. Shoving my messy, bed-head hair out of my face, I gingerly lifted the note from the pillow and forced my sleepy eyes to focus on the words:

_Bella… There's something important I have to do so I'll be gone for the day. Carlisle is – regrettably – coming with me since he knows the town better than I do. I'll be back later tonight. Stay out of trouble. Be thinking of you every second that I'm gone. – Edward._

Lovingly, I traced my fingertips over the penned words, examining Edward's tidy handwriting. I was very tempted to throw myself back down, yank the covers over my head and go right back to sleep. An entire day without Edward? How on Earth was I supposed to pass the time?

Gently pulling the bouquet away from my bedside table and smelling their decadent aroma, I considered the dilemma. Thinking back to two years ago, I wracked my brain for what I used to do to occupy myself before Edward became the center of my universe.

Then it hit me and I smiled, praising myself for the idea. Tenderly laying the roses aside, I rummaged through my nightstand drawer and fished out my hot pink cell phone. Flipping it open, I scrolled though the list of names before hitting the one I wanted and pressing the call button. The phone rang two times before she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jess! It's Bella," I greeted cheerfully, unable to keep the smile off my face as I rolled onto my stomach, bending my legs up over my body and locking them together at the ankles.

"Oh, hi, Bella!" Jessica said in her strident voice, sounding pleasantly surprised and welcoming. "Wow, I feel like we haven't talked in ages… probably since school let out. I should've called sooner, but as foolish as it sounds, I just became so absorbed with Ben that I suppose I forgot about the world _outside_ of him…."

Laughing lightly, I thought back to the end of senior year. Ben was a good-looking, auburn-haired boy from our class that had fallen head-over-heels for Jess. At first, I was positive that no boy would ever have the amount of determination and patience necessary to woe Jessica and win her fragile trust, but Ben proved me wrong. The boy had verified his worth to both me and Jessica after he made it perfectly clear that he was completely serious about the petite brunette girl. If Jessica asked it of him, he probably would've travel to the Underworld and back. And so she accepted his affections and two months later, she was just as crazy about Ben as he was for her. "Don't worry about it, Jess," I consoled my obviously chagrined best friend. "Anyone with a boyfriend tends to forget that there are more things that exist in the universe besides him. Hell, I _still _do that on occasion, and you'd think I'd be over that phase by now!"

Jessica giggled softly, reassured. "I suppose so. So what's the latest news with you? Anything new I should know about?" she inquired politely, dutifully. It was so like Jessica. She never allowed a conversation to be focused on her for too long.

"Nah, not really. Just staying up late, Edward taking me to the school, tormenting Charlie whenever the opportunity presents itself. The usual," I honestly informed her, lightly kicking my feet back and forth. "You?"

"Bored out of my mind," she responded with a woebegone sigh. "The only time I ever leave the house is when Ben stops by, but with him working all summer, it's so rare that I even get to see him. You're so lucky, Bella. You get to spend all summer with Edward and his family." She paused for a moment, then asked, "How are you two doing anyway?"

"Wonderful," I told her with a grin, and then, sensing the perfect opportunity to cut in with my reason for calling, I added, "In fact, Edward's gone for the day so he's finally freed up some time for me to do other things. I was thinking that maybe I could re-explore the world that _doesn't _revolve around him. So you wanna hang out today? We haven't had girl time in a while since the boyfriends entered the picture."

"Absolutely," Jessica consented without a moment's hesitation. "My parents have the car for the day so I'm stuck here. Why don't you come over to my house?"

"No problem," I agreed enthusiastically. "Be there in an hour?"

"Sounds good to me. See you soon, Bella."

"Bye!" I said cheerfully before hanging up the phone.

Once off the line with Jessica, I kicked the covers off me and crawled out of bed. Before I did anything else, I filled an empty glass with water and plopped some ice into it. Carefully, I placed it on my windowsill for light. After a moment of gazing contently at the delicate, soft and slick contours of the cubes, I rummaged through my closet for a decent set of clothes and hurried onto the bathroom. Showering as quickly as I could force myself to, I threw my clothes on and ran a comb though my disheveled hair. Then I rushed back to my room, snatching up my purse and keys.

On my way out the door, I paused when my eyes fell on the necklace Edward gave me for Christmas two years ago. I was always careful whenever I wore it, afraid that some calamity would occur and the fragile black lace would be torn. Therefore, I only wore it on special occasions when I knew it wasn't at risk and I _never _wore it during the school year.

Determining that it would be in no imminent danger on a girl's day out with Jess, I tenderly removed the choker from my jewelry box and carefully attached it to my throat. Lightly, I touched the carved red rose resting in between my collarbones and smiled.

Them, I slung the strap of my purse over my shoulder and dashed though the halls out to the circular driveway. Sliding into my sleek, red convertible – a gift from Jasper when I turned eighteen – I revved the ignition and drove out of the driveway.

Top down, the wind rushed over me, tangling in my hair like fingers as I drove down the winding roads to Jessica's house. Sunlight filtered though the emerald green leaves above my head in an enchanting, natural canopy. As I zipped along the street, I couldn't help but wonder what Edward was doing.

He'd never really found a store worth visiting in the town, always complaining that it held nothing of interest to him. Even to this day he grumbled and scowled whenever the compulsion to shop struck me. I still had to drag him with me and the golden-haired vampire still treated it as if he was bound for the gallows.

So my question now was, what was so important that Edward voluntarily made a trip into town? And why didn't he take me along? Why Carlisle instead of me?

I pondered these questions all the way to Jessica's house, searching got the solution… or at the very least an _idea. _But by the time I parked alongside the curb of Jessica's quaint, pale yellow Colonial ten minutes later, I remained without an answer. I was drawing a complete blank.

Filing my curiosities about Edward's mysterious outing with Carlisle to the back of my mind, I cut the engine and stepped out of the car. Almost as soon as the convertible's door slammed shut, the screen door opened and Jessica rushed out to greet me.

Grinning ecstatically, I raced up the driveway and nearly knocked the poor girl over when I threw my arms around her in an enormous hug, exclaiming, "Jess!"

She laughed lightly, returning the hug softly. "As lively as ever, I see," Jessica commented quietly, polite humor in her voice.

"Wouldn't be me if I wasn't," I quipped, chipper as I released my best friend with a smile.

Jessica smiled warmly at me, her topaz eyes dancing merrily, her brown hair gleaming like gold in the sunlight. Even after all this time, she had never deviated from her usual mid-length hair, preferring to keep her soft waves at a continuous length. Even I had changed my hair a little, allowing it to grow past my shoulders, but Jessica remained untouched.

"It's good to see you, Bella," the blonde girl said quietly, her lovely smiled still in place as she led me up the steps to her house.

"So what's on the schedule today?" I inquired curiously.

"Oh, I have a few things lined up for our girl's day out," she eluded mysteriously. At the same time, we giggled and linked arms with each other.

Drumming my now cherry-red nails on the steering wheel, I pulled into the driveway of the house and killed the engine. Almost seven at night, the sky was an exquisite golden-orange as the sun drifted closer and closer to the horizon.

Stepping elegantly from my convertible, I smoothed the back of my new dress, feeling every inch like a diva or a superstar or maybe a model. Jess and I had spent the day in Port Angeles, shopping and being pampered at a day spa. I'd never been to a spa before, but I found that I quite enjoyed it; facials, manicures, pedicures, the whole bit.

When we had returned from shopping, I had immediately changed out of my old clothes to don my new ones. I was now wearing a cream-colored, tube-top dress that ended just above my knees. White lace trimmed the hemline and the top of the dress. Red and black fabric flowers lined the edges of the lace and wrapped around my waist, tapering to a narrow point at the front. Snowy, strappy heels adorned with rhinestones held my feet and my wrists jangled with silver bangles. Edward's necklace remained clasped around my throat, completing the outfit.

And speaking of Edward…

Digging my phone out from my purse, I flipped it open. No missed calls, no voice mail, no text messages, nothing. I frowned at it.

It was unusual to go through an entire day without hearing from Edward. Usually, he called or texted me every now and then to check up on me during those rare, few days when we weren't together. But that hadn't been the case today. Aside from the note I'd woken up to this morning, I'd had no contact with my boyfriend at all today. I wasn't suspicious at all of the lack of communication. If anything, I was anxious about Edward's well being and curious as ever about his mystery excursion.

Shrugging, I headed up to my room, tossing my purse onto my bed and depositing my old clothes onto the floor unceremoniously. The heavenly scent of roses filled my room and the walls, floor and furniture were gilded with the sun's golden light. Crossing the tiny space of my room, I stood before a window and gazed out over the short expanse of the front yard.

Suddenly, I was overcome by an unexplainable, but powerful impulse to walk into the forest. Like the wind, just as quickly as I entered, I hurried out the door of my house and burst outside into the warm, sweet summer air in record time. I had barely taken two steps when a familiar voice called out to me, effectively freezing me in mid-stride.

"Hey, Bella!"

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of two of my werewolf friends walking toward me. One was Quil Ateara, who was as always, happy to see me, and Jacob Black, who waved to me with eagerness to greet me, as he hadn't seen me in about 2 months.

Grinning, I waved back at them and called out, "Hey, guys!" before approaching them.

As I'd predicted, Quil and Jacob were still friends, even after all of the fights they had gotten into over the last year. The two were virtually inseparable, superglued to each other since the day they had arrived in their pack together. As it turned out, they had a startling number of interests in common. In addition, Jacob suprisingly hadn't called to ask if I could go to La Push to visit Billy and his motorcycles. I wasn't intending to go on another motorcycle frenzy. Nope. Not after Charlie freaked out about the last scenario.

Stopping in front of the two werewolves, I smiled at them, excited and happy. "What're you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?"

"Oh, we are," Quil confirmed, smiling pleasantly. "However, Jacob always seems to be put in a group with me for border patrol. Seems like the other bloodsuckers always get close to the border."

"That, and I was hoping to drop in and say hello to you and Edward, no matter how bad he smells. He seems to be treating you well," Jacob inserted amiably with an innocent smile. Then, his pale eyes widened slightly in realization. "Oh! That reminds me! Edward asked me to come find you."

My ears perked up at the sound of my boyfriend's name. "Edward did? He's back?" I inquired, feeling relief surge through me.

The wolf nodded, his gentle, black locks drifting over his ghostly eyes before he brushed it away. "Yeah, we met him just a few minutes ago. Why? Was he away?" he questioned inquisitively, cocking his head in a confused manner.

"Yeah, he's been out since this morning," I answered, once again wondering why. "He didn't tell me when he'd be back since he never called me."

"Ah, yes, he told me to tell you, should we happened to find you," Jacob said, nodding understandingly. "He said that his phone battery died early this morning and Carlisle hadn't brought his cell, so he couldn't contact you. He also told me to tell you that he's very sorry about that and that if I should find you, he'd like me to bring you to him…"

Jacob trailed off to peer questioningly up at Quil. Smiling, Quil said, "By all means, go ahead. I'll go meet Seth in his room and you can join me when you're all finished. Go on." He motioned at us in a shooing manner. "Don't keep Edward waiting."

"We won't be long," the wolf promised and without another word, took my hand in his, dragged me away from the house. For a guy that was really taller than me, he certainly was much stronger than he appeared. After a while, Jacob released my hand and I followed him in pensive silence.

Where were we going? Why hadn't Edward come himself? Why didn't he tell me about this trip beforehand? What could be have _possibly _done in town? They were all unanswered questions.

It was then that I emerged from my reverie and momentarily disoriented by the strange surroundings, I realized with a start that we weren't heading for the house as I'd originally expected.

"Where are we going?" I asked, glancing around curiously. Pieces of the scenery began to arrange themselves in my head, slowly forming a broken picture. I recognized this particular section of the neighborhood, but still missing some vital chunks of the puzzle, and therefore, the overall memory…

"To the park near here," Jake answered, just as we rounded a bend and the massive park materialized into view, completing the puzzle with an almost audible 'snap'. Now the half-forgotten segments of the trees and landscape around us were once again familiar and welcome to me.

However, I frowned slightly in bewilderment. "What's he doing here?" I inquired as we crossed over the miniature, picturesque bridge.

The ebony-haired wolf shrugged his shoulders, his beautiful face a mask of perplexed interest. "Not sure," he admitted truthfully, sounding as inquisitive as I was. "All he asked was that I escort you here."

When we finally stood before the park, Jacob stopped. Whipping around so that he was facing me, the wolf stood practically nose-to-nose with me, his brown eyes level with mine.

Placing his elegant, slender hands on my shoulders, Jacob said urgently, "This is where I leave you, Bella. Once you're through this door to the recreation center, turn left and follow the hallway until you come across a pair of glass doors on your right. Go through the tennis courts and you'll find where Edward is."

Removing his hands from my shoulders, he bowed low to me and said, "Goodnight, Bella. I wish you luck."

With a mischievous smirk on his Cupid's bow lips and a strange, knowing glint in his swirling, earth-colored irises, Jacob spun on his heel and sauntered away. Suspiciously, I glared at the back of his black-haired head, realization sinking in.

_He's in on it, _I thought, my hand resting on the knob. Shrugging, I twisted the knob and passed through. Then, following Jake's instructions, I turned left and proceeded down the darkened hallway, using my hand on the wall to steer me through the impenetrable darkness. After what seemed like several hours, I finally reached the twin glass doors. Peeking through the glass, I attempted to distinguish any recognizable shapes amongst the murky darkness but could see nothing. It was almost as if the glass was tinted.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The second my foot touched the ground opposite the door, rows of candles and stings of lights flickered to life.

My breath caught in my throat.

The door had led me outside rather than _inside _to what I thought was the tennis courts and I found myself standing at the edge of an immense, magnificent courtyard. Cobblestone paths snaked through gardens filled with countless flower species, colorful bushes and weeping willows, their branches and leaves dripping around their trunks like a natural curtain. Hummingbirds zipped to and from brilliant scarlet hibiscus blossoms and trumpet vines. Tiny tea-light candles illuminated the carefully laid paths and white strings of lights were draped over bushes and hanging from the tree branches. The sky overhead was gold and pink from the setting sun and as if on cue, soft, melodic notes drifted through the lukewarm night air, sweet and lovely.

"What the…?" I breathed, my voice trailing off in wonder.

"Like it?" a deep, husky voice asked.

My eyes instantly snapped to the center of the garden where the much-love, rough voice had projected from. Smooth and sleek as a panther, Edward slid out from behind an oak tree, grinning so widely that his beautiful teeth gleamed.

"Edward…" I whispered, awed. Unsure of myself, I took a hesitant step toward him and stopped. "Did… did you do all of this?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said proudly, stepping more directly into the light and I could barely contain my gasp. Edward always looked sexy, regardless what he wore, which was usually his sleek sweaters of all sorts and tan slacks. But _this _was beyond words.

The auburn-haired vampire was dressed in a crimson silk shirt, its long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The first three inches of the V-neckline were button-less, allowing it to drift open to reveal his smooth, muscled chest. Halfway down the center of his chest, the buttons returned. However, only the first was clasped and the others were left untouched, allowing teasing glimpses of the pale stomach underneath whenever the loose fabric shifted. Edward's long legs were sheathed in black pants that clung tight to his thighs. Multiple rips and tears were slashed into the fabric, exposing creamy patches of skin.

A silver studded belt looped around his wait and thin chains hung from the belt loops. Around his left wrist was a band of black leather and a ring designed to represent bat wings adorned his middle finger. A platinum dragon necklace lay quietly against his bared chest.

"What… what is this?" I stammered as he approached me.

"The reason why I was gone all day," the god replied, stopping before me, smiling heartbreakingly. I could only stare open-mouthed at him, completely dazzled by all of it.

"You did all of this… for me?" I whispered, staring wide-eyed up into Edward's twilight irises.

"Of course. And now…" He bowed gracefully to me, bangs brushing over his forehead but his dusky eyes remained riveted to mine. "May I have the honor of this dance?"

Giggling, I accepted his proffered hand and curtseyed in return. "Why certainly," I said formally, unable to keep the enormous, silly grin from my face.

After that we fell into peaceful silence, dancing around the courtyard to the music.

Abruptly bowing his head, Edward grazed his full lips against the shell of my ear and whispered quietly into it, "Did I mention that you're absolutely gorgeous tonight?"

Blushing, I gazed into the fair-haired's exotic eyes and murmured, "You just did."

Smirking, my boyfriend languidly brushed his lips over my ear and cheek before withdrawing. "That dress is lovely on you," he complimented, spinning me away from him so he could admire it more fully. "Is that new?"

"Mhm," I said when I returned to him, planting a hand on his shoulder once more. "Jessica and I went shopping today." I eyed his outfit and then commented, "And what about you? I've never seen this ensemble before. You usually don't wear much in the way of color."

Edward shrugged casually, glancing briefly down at himself. "Ehh, it was something I'd had buried in the very back of my closest. I've never worn it before tonight," he intoned indifferently. "Well it looks gorgeous on you," I informed him dutifully, admiring him with appreciative eyes. "I find it hard to believe that I'm not dancing with a god."

The vampire snorted in disbelief but made no further comments. We danced in silence throughout the remainder of the song, merely gazing into each other's eyes, smiling and allowing out feet to guide us and, suprisingly, I did not trip at all. Maybe my klutziness was drowned by Edward's perfection.

When the last melodic notes of the song drifted off, melting away, by unspoken consent, both Edward and I broke apart, our feet stilling. Twining his long fingers with mine, the pale vampire, or should I say divine being, and I strolled down the slender paths of the courtyard. I allowed him to lead me to the opposite side of the garden and he tugged me down to sit next to him on a polished wood bench. Wrapping an arm around me, my vampire boyfriend drew me against his marble chest and I gratefully cuddled against him. My eyes drifted closed, listening as the next song began to play and focusing on the feel of a hand drifting up and down my side, satisfied to remain where we were.

"Hey, Bella?" Edward murmured softly, his breath brushing my cheek.

"Hmm…?" I breathed both hearing and feeling his breathing and heartbeat through his chest.

"Can I ask you something?" he inquired.

"Of course. You can ask me anything," I responded instantly, my eyes still closed. "You know that."

The vampire was quiet for a moment, hesitating. Then, finally, he spoke, "I was thinking about that day two years ago… when James was in Forks. I'm always going to be haunted by the memory of seeing you sitting so passively in his grasp while his fangs were bared at your wrist…"

There was a slight movement and I opened my eyes to see him shaking his head, wisps of hair whispering over his face. His expression was one of confusion, awe and horror, an expression so very alike to the one he was wearing that night…

"To this day, I still don't understand it," my beloved vampire whispered.

"You already know, Edward," I reminded him, scooting away slightly so that I could look him in the eye. "I did it because I was a fool and thought my mother was going to die, and it was my instinct to save her, no matter how dangerous the task at hand was going to be, and whether or not I was going to die, I didn't care. I had you, and that was all that mattered."

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say that, Bells. Of course, all of that pain ended the day you told me you loved me, not Jacob. After all these years, I'm finally with the girl I've waited for for so long."

At these words, my breath hitched in my throat and I stared at him in amazement. Not once in the two years we'd been dating had Edward not told me that he loved me. Granted, he didn't need to. I knew he loved me completely and entirely. But all the same, hearing it now knocked the breath right out my lungs.

"Edward…" I breathed, unsure of quite what to say.

"Hold that thought for a minute," he interrupted. "I have something I want to give you."

Leaning over the side of the bench, Edward groped around on the ground. His slender fingers then closed around something I couldn't see and when he straightened up, he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

A radiant smile stretched my lips and I gently lifted the fragile blossoms from his long fingers. An array of different colors greeted my eyes; pale purple lilacs; snowy white lilies; blood-red roses; pink carnations; sapphire blue forget-me-nots; and bright yellow sunflowers. There was no plastic wrap surrounding them. Only a coral pink ribbon tied tightly around the stems held the flowers in their carefully constructed arrangement.

Oddly enough, the ribbon was what caught my attention the most because dangling from one of the loose ends of the silky fabric, was a tiny, glimmering ring.

Gasping at the sheer beauty of the little circlet, I quickly untied the ring and lifted it to my face to examine it more closely, placing the flowers beside me on the bench. The band was a thin, elegant weave of gold and platinum, twisting around each other like a rope. In the center rested a stunning diamond about the size of my pinkie nail. It was cut into the shape of a heart and its multi-faceted surface sparkled and glittered brilliantly whichever way I turned it, always managing to capture the dim light of the courtyard. Framing the diamond were two small, cushion-cut golden citrine stones.

Awed and completely speechless, I stared up into Edward's eyes, his irises a perfect replica of the twin gems.

"I figured you'd appreciate the golden citrine since you always seem so captivated with my eyes," he commented simply, shrugging.

"Edward, it's gorgeous," I breathed, turning it over in my fingers, mesmerized by its beauty.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I _love _it," I corrected, then giggled. "It's so lovely that I'm almost afraid to wear it."

I was just about to slide it onto my ring finger when Edward's hand closed around my wrist gently, effectively stopping me in mid-motion.

"Wait."

Confused, I glanced at him as he lifted the ring from my fingers. Intense, golden eyes fixated firmly on me, an expression of determination crossing his handsome face.

"There's something I have to do before you put it on," Edward whispered, standing.

And he got down on one knee.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, hands flying to cover my mouth as my eyes widened to the size of saucers. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest and my blood rushed in my ears. Time seemed to freeze and slow down, causing everything to feel surreal. The courtyard faded and the sorrowful love song in the background was muted to my ears. Now, the only thing I could see was Edward – my golden-haired, vampire boyfriend – kneeling before me, his face a mask of a thousand different emotions, holding out a tiny piece of jewelry that I now realized was an engagement ring.

"Bella…" Edward began, his voice rough and husky with emotion, "I know it's still rather early in our relationship for this, but I feel that this is something I need to do. I asked Charlie permission for your hand and he gave me his consent… with quite a bit of struggle, I might add.

"Hear me out, Bells. We've been though so much together in the years we've known each other and it didn't take me long to become enamored by you. I could almost say that I fell in love with you the first night we met, the day your blood tempted me to kill an entire classroom full of innocent individuals, including Mike Newton. You are the reason I'm alive today, Bella, and I am forever indebted to you for my life. It belongs to you, as does my body, heart and soul."

Tears of joy were now streaming down my face as I stared at Edward in rapture, his golden eyes ever-serious and unmoving.

"I swear to you, Bella, to be forever faithful to you. I swear to protect you with my life. I swear to love you until my dying day. There is no one else who will ever hold my heart as you do. If you refuse me here tonight, then that will be then end of it for me. I will never love another. It will always be you. And so, Isabella Swan…" Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the golden irises were fiery with love and firm with determined steel. Then, he opened his mouth and murmured, "Will you marry me?"

As I sat there, staring down at Edward, two brief visions came to me. One was of me dressed in white, walking down an aisle to where he stood in a black tux, smiling down at me from an altar. The other was of a baby boy and girl; the boy was a brunette with gold eyes and the girl had golden hair and summer sky colored eyes.

There were no more questions.

I knew what my answer was.

"Yes," I whispered, smiling broadly as tears splashed down my face. "Yes, I'll marry you."

The smile that split Edward's face was like no other. In one fluid motion, he slipped the ring onto my finger and stood up, pulling me with him. Without missing a beat, he swept me into his arms, lifting me into the air and his lips descended on mine, kissing me through my joyous, teary laughter.

Author's Note: Interesting ending, right? Well, it took me a good month or two to finally pull this out with a lot of spare time and effort on my part. I am so glad I did this, and I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions about the plot, feel free to comment. Constructive criticism much appreciated!

_**~RoxasAndEli.**_


	2. The Proposal: Part 2

Jessica smiled warmly at me, her topaz eyes dancing merrily, her brown hair gleaming like gold in the sunlight. Even after all this time, she had never deviated from her usual mid-length hair, preferring to keep her soft waves at a continuous length. Even I had changed my hair a little, allowing it to grow past my shoulders, but Jessica remained untouched.

"It's good to see you, Bella," the blonde girl said quietly, her lovely smiled still in place as she led me up the steps to her house.

"So what's on the schedule today?" I inquired curiously.

"Oh, I have a few things lined up for our girl's day out," she eluded mysteriously. At the same time, we giggled and linked arms with each other.

Drumming my now cherry-red nails on the steering wheel, I pulled into the driveway of the house and killed the engine. Almost seven at night, the sky was an exquisite golden-orange as the sun drifted closer and closer to the horizon.

Stepping elegantly from my convertible, I smoothed the back of my new dress, feeling every inch like a diva or a superstar or maybe a model. Jess and I had spent the day in Port Angeles, shopping and being pampered at a day spa. I'd never been to a spa before, but I found that I quite enjoyed it; facials, manicures, pedicures, the whole bit.

When we had returned from shopping, I had immediately changed out of my old clothes to don my new ones. I was now wearing a cream-colored, tube-top dress that ended just above my knees. White lace trimmed the hemline and the top of the dress. Red and black fabric flowers lined the edges of the lace and wrapped around my waist, tapering to a narrow point at the front. Snowy, strappy heels adorned with rhinestones held my feet and my wrists jangled with silver bangles. Edward's necklace remained clasped around my throat, completing the outfit.

And speaking of Edward…

Digging my phone out from my purse, I flipped it open. No missed calls, no voice mail, no text messages, nothing. I frowned at it.

It was unusual to go through an entire day without hearing from Edward. Usually, he called or texted me every now and then to check up on me during those rare, few days when we weren't together. But that hadn't been the case today. Aside from the note I'd woken up to this morning, I'd had no contact with my boyfriend at all today. I wasn't suspicious at all of the lack of communication. If anything, I was anxious about Edward's well being and curious as ever about his mystery excursion.

Shrugging, I headed up to my room, tossing my purse onto my bed and depositing my old clothes onto the floor unceremoniously. The heavenly scent of roses filled my room and the walls, floor and furniture were gilded with the sun's golden light. Crossing the tiny space of my room, I stood before a window and gazed out over the short expanse of the front yard.

Suddenly, I was overcome by an unexplainable, but powerful impulse to walk into the forest. Like the wind, just as quickly as I entered, I hurried out the door of my house and burst outside into the warm, sweet summer air in record time. I had barely taken two steps when a familiar voice called out to me, effectively freezing me in mid-stride.

"Hey, Bella!"

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of two of my werewolf friends walking toward me. One was Quil Ateara, who was as always, happy to see me, and Jacob Black, who waved to me with eagerness to greet me, as he hadn't seen me in about 2 months.

Grinning, I waved back at them and called out, "Hey, guys!" before approaching them.

As I'd predicted, Quil and Jacob were still friends, even after all of the fights they had gotten into over the last year. The two were virtually inseparable, superglued to each other since the day they had arrived in their pack together. As it turned out, they had a startling number of interests in common. In addition, Jacob suprisingly hadn't called to ask if I could go to La Push to visit Billy and his motorcycles. I wasn't intending to go on another motorcycle frenzy. Nope. Not after Charlie freaked out about the last scenario.

Stopping in front of the two werewolves, I smiled at them, excited and happy. "What're you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?"

"Oh, we are," Quil confirmed, smiling pleasantly. "However, Jacob always seems to be put in a group with me for border patrol. Seems like the other bloodsuckers always get close to the border."

"That, and I was hoping to drop in and say hello to you and Edward, no matter how bad he smells. He seems to be treating you well," Jacob inserted amiably with an innocent smile. Then, his pale eyes widened slightly in realization. "Oh! That reminds me! Edward asked me to come find you."

My ears perked up at the sound of my boyfriend's name. "Edward did? He's back?" I inquired, feeling relief surge through me.

The wolf nodded, his gentle, black locks drifting over his ghostly eyes before he brushed it away. "Yeah, we met him just a few minutes ago. Why? Was he away?" he questioned inquisitively, cocking his head in a confused manner.

"Yeah, he's been out since this morning," I answered, once again wondering why. "He didn't tell me when he'd be back since he never called me."

"Ah, yes, he told me to tell you, should we happened to find you," Jacob said, nodding understandingly. "He said that his phone battery died early this morning and Carlisle hadn't brought his cell, so he couldn't contact you. He also told me to tell you that he's very sorry about that and that if I should find you, he'd like me to bring you to him…"

Jacob trailed off to peer questioningly up at Quil. Smiling, Quil said, "By all means, go ahead. I'll go meet Seth in his room and you can join me when you're all finished. Go on." He motioned at us in a shooing manner. "Don't keep Edward waiting."

"We won't be long," the wolf promised and without another word, took my hand in his, dragged me away from the house. For a guy that was really taller than me, he certainly was much stronger than he appeared. After a while, Jacob released my hand and I followed him in pensive silence.

Where were we going? Why hadn't Edward come himself? Why didn't he tell me about this trip beforehand? What could be have _possibly _done in town? They were all unanswered questions.

It was then that I emerged from my reverie and momentarily disoriented by the strange surroundings, I realized with a start that we weren't heading for the house as I'd originally expected.

"Where are we going?" I asked, glancing around curiously. Pieces of the scenery began to arrange themselves in my head, slowly forming a broken picture. I recognized this particular section of the neighborhood, but still missing some vital chunks of the puzzle, and therefore, the overall memory…

"To the park near here," Jake answered, just as we rounded a bend and the massive park materialized into view, completing the puzzle with an almost audible 'snap'. Now the half-forgotten segments of the trees and landscape around us were once again familiar and welcome to me.

However, I frowned slightly in bewilderment. "What's he doing here?" I inquired as we crossed over the miniature, picturesque bridge.

The ebony-haired wolf shrugged his shoulders, his beautiful face a mask of perplexed interest. "Not sure," he admitted truthfully, sounding as inquisitive as I was. "All he asked was that I escort you here."

When we finally stood before the park, Jacob stopped. Whipping around so that he was facing me, the wolf stood practically nose-to-nose with me, his brown eyes level with mine.

Placing his elegant, slender hands on my shoulders, Jacob said urgently, "This is where I leave you, Bella. Once you're through this door to the recreation center, turn left and follow the hallway until you come across a pair of glass doors on your right. Go through the tennis courts and you'll find where Edward is."

Removing his hands from my shoulders, he bowed low to me and said, "Goodnight, Bella. I wish you luck."

With a mischievous smirk on his Cupid's bow lips and a strange, knowing glint in his swirling, earth-colored irises, Jacob spun on his heel and sauntered away. Suspiciously, I glared at the back of his black-haired head, realization sinking in.

_He's in on it, _I thought, my hand resting on the knob. Shrugging, I twisted the knob and passed through. Then, following Jake's instructions, I turned left and proceeded down the darkened hallway, using my hand on the wall to steer me through the impenetrable darkness. After what seemed like several hours, I finally reached the twin glass doors. Peeking through the glass, I attempted to distinguish any recognizable shapes amongst the murky darkness but could see nothing. It was almost as if the glass was tinted.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The second my foot touched the ground opposite the door, rows of candles and stings of lights flickered to life.

My breath caught in my throat.

The door had led me outside rather than _inside _to what I thought was the tennis courts and I found myself standing at the edge of an immense, magnificent courtyard. Cobblestone paths snaked through gardens filled with countless flower species, colorful bushes and weeping willows, their branches and leaves dripping around their trunks like a natural curtain. Hummingbirds zipped to and from brilliant scarlet hibiscus blossoms and trumpet vines. Tiny tea-light candles illuminated the carefully laid paths and white strings of lights were draped over bushes and hanging from the tree branches. The sky overhead was gold and pink from the setting sun and as if on cue, soft, melodic notes drifted through the lukewarm night air, sweet and lovely.

"What the…?" I breathed, my voice trailing off in wonder.

"Like it?" a deep, husky voice asked.

My eyes instantly snapped to the center of the garden where the much-love, rough voice had projected from. Smooth and sleek as a panther, Edward slid out from behind an oak tree, grinning so widely that his beautiful teeth gleamed.

"Edward…" I whispered, awed. Unsure of myself, I took a hesitant step toward him and stopped. "Did… did you do all of this?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said proudly, stepping more directly into the light and I could barely contain my gasp. Edward always looked sexy, regardless what he wore, which was usually his sleek sweaters of all sorts and tan slacks. But _this _was beyond words.

The auburn-haired vampire was dressed in a crimson silk shirt, its long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The first three inches of the V-neckline were button-less, allowing it to drift open to reveal his smooth, muscled chest. Halfway down the center of his chest, the buttons returned. However, only the first was clasped and the others were left untouched, allowing teasing glimpses of the pale stomach underneath whenever the loose fabric shifted. Edward's long legs were sheathed in black pants that clung tight to his thighs. Multiple rips and tears were slashed into the fabric, exposing creamy patches of skin.

A silver studded belt looped around his wait and thin chains hung from the belt loops. Around his left wrist was a band of black leather and a ring designed to represent bat wings adorned his middle finger. A platinum dragon necklace lay quietly against his bared chest.

"What… what is this?" I stammered as he approached me.

"The reason why I was gone all day," the god replied, stopping before me, smiling heartbreakingly. I could only stare open-mouthed at him, completely dazzled by all of it.

"You did all of this… for me?" I whispered, staring wide-eyed up into Edward's twilight irises.

"Of course. And now…" He bowed gracefully to me, bangs brushing over his forehead but his dusky eyes remained riveted to mine. "May I have the honor of this dance?"

Giggling, I accepted his proffered hand and curtseyed in return. "Why certainly," I said formally, unable to keep the enormous, silly grin from my face.

After that we fell into peaceful silence, dancing around the courtyard to the music.

Abruptly bowing his head, Edward grazed his full lips against the shell of my ear and whispered quietly into it, "Did I mention that you're absolutely gorgeous tonight?"

Blushing, I gazed into the fair-haired's exotic eyes and murmured, "You just did."

Smirking, my boyfriend languidly brushed his lips over my ear and cheek before withdrawing. "That dress is lovely on you," he complimented, spinning me away from him so he could admire it more fully. "Is that new?"

"Mhm," I said when I returned to him, planting a hand on his shoulder once more. "Jessica and I went shopping today." I eyed his outfit and then commented, "And what about you? I've never seen this ensemble before. You usually don't wear much in the way of color."

Edward shrugged casually, glancing briefly down at himself. "Ehh, it was something I'd had buried in the very back of my closest. I've never worn it before tonight," he intoned indifferently. "Well it looks gorgeous on you," I informed him dutifully, admiring him with appreciative eyes. "I find it hard to believe that I'm not dancing with a god."

The vampire snorted in disbelief but made no further comments. We danced in silence throughout the remainder of the song, merely gazing into each other's eyes, smiling and allowing out feet to guide us and, suprisingly, I did not trip at all. Maybe my klutziness was drowned by Edward's perfection.

When the last melodic notes of the song drifted off, melting away, by unspoken consent, both Edward and I broke apart, our feet stilling. Twining his long fingers with mine, the pale vampire, or should I say divine being, and I strolled down the slender paths of the courtyard. I allowed him to lead me to the opposite side of the garden and he tugged me down to sit next to him on a polished wood bench. Wrapping an arm around me, my vampire boyfriend drew me against his marble chest and I gratefully cuddled against him. My eyes drifted closed, listening as the next song began to play and focusing on the feel of a hand drifting up and down my side, satisfied to remain where we were.

"Hey, Bella?" Edward murmured softly, his breath brushing my cheek.

"Hmm…?" I breathed both hearing and feeling his breathing and heartbeat through his chest.

"Can I ask you something?" he inquired.

"Of course. You can ask me anything," I responded instantly, my eyes still closed. "You know that."

The vampire was quiet for a moment, hesitating. Then, finally, he spoke, "I was thinking about that day two years ago… when James was in Forks. I'm always going to be haunted by the memory of seeing you sitting so passively in his grasp while his fangs were bared at your wrist…"

There was a slight movement and I opened my eyes to see him shaking his head, wisps of hair whispering over his face. His expression was one of confusion, awe and horror, an expression so very alike to the one he was wearing that night…

"To this day, I still don't understand it," my beloved vampire whispered.

"You already know, Edward," I reminded him, scooting away slightly so that I could look him in the eye. "I did it because I was a fool and thought my mother was going to die, and it was my instinct to save her, no matter how dangerous the task at hand was going to be, and whether or not I was going to die, I didn't care. I had you, and that was all that mattered."

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say that, Bells. Of course, all of that pain ended the day you told me you loved me, not Jacob. After all these years, I'm finally with the girl I've waited for for so long."

At these words, my breath hitched in my throat and I stared at him in amazement. Not once in the two years we'd been dating had Edward not told me that he loved me. Granted, he didn't need to. I knew he loved me completely and entirely. But all the same, hearing it now knocked the breath right out my lungs.

"Edward…" I breathed, unsure of quite what to say.

"Hold that thought for a minute," he interrupted. "I have something I want to give you."

Leaning over the side of the bench, Edward groped around on the ground. His slender fingers then closed around something I couldn't see and when he straightened up, he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

A radiant smile stretched my lips and I gently lifted the fragile blossoms from his long fingers. An array of different colors greeted my eyes; pale purple lilacs; snowy white lilies; blood-red roses; pink carnations; sapphire blue forget-me-nots; and bright yellow sunflowers. There was no plastic wrap surrounding them. Only a coral pink ribbon tied tightly around the stems held the flowers in their carefully constructed arrangement.

Oddly enough, the ribbon was what caught my attention the most because dangling from one of the loose ends of the silky fabric, was a tiny, glimmering ring.

Gasping at the sheer beauty of the little circlet, I quickly untied the ring and lifted it to my face to examine it more closely, placing the flowers beside me on the bench. The band was a thin, elegant weave of gold and platinum, twisting around each other like a rope. In the center rested a stunning diamond about the size of my pinkie nail. It was cut into the shape of a heart and its multi-faceted surface sparkled and glittered brilliantly whichever way I turned it, always managing to capture the dim light of the courtyard. Framing the diamond were two small, cushion-cut golden citrine stones.

Awed and completely speechless, I stared up into Edward's eyes, his irises a perfect replica of the twin gems.

"I figured you'd appreciate the golden citrine since you always seem so captivated with my eyes," he commented simply, shrugging.

"Edward, it's gorgeous," I breathed, turning it over in my fingers, mesmerized by its beauty.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I _love _it," I corrected, then giggled. "It's so lovely that I'm almost afraid to wear it."

I was just about to slide it onto my ring finger when Edward's hand closed around my wrist gently, effectively stopping me in mid-motion.

"Wait."

Confused, I glanced at him as he lifted the ring from my fingers. Intense, golden eyes fixated firmly on me, an expression of determination crossing his handsome face.

"There's something I have to do before you put it on," Edward whispered, standing.

And he got down on one knee.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, hands flying to cover my mouth as my eyes widened to the size of saucers. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest and my blood rushed in my ears. Time seemed to freeze and slow down, causing everything to feel surreal. The courtyard faded and the sorrowful love song in the background was muted to my ears. Now, the only thing I could see was Edward – my golden-haired, vampire boyfriend – kneeling before me, his face a mask of a thousand different emotions, holding out a tiny piece of jewelry that I now realized was an engagement ring.

"Bella…" Edward began, his voice rough and husky with emotion, "I know it's still rather early in our relationship for this, but I feel that this is something I need to do. I asked Charlie permission for your hand and he gave me his consent… with quite a bit of struggle, I might add.

"Hear me out, Bells. We've been though so much together in the years we've known each other and it didn't take me long to become enamored by you. I could almost say that I fell in love with you the first night we met, the day your blood tempted me to kill an entire classroom full of innocent individuals, including Mike Newton. You are the reason I'm alive today, Bella, and I am forever indebted to you for my life. It belongs to you, as does my body, heart and soul."

Tears of joy were now streaming down my face as I stared at Edward in rapture, his golden eyes ever-serious and unmoving.

"I swear to you, Bella, to be forever faithful to you. I swear to protect you with my life. I swear to love you until my dying day. There is no one else who will ever hold my heart as you do. If you refuse me here tonight, then that will be then end of it for me. I will never love another. It will always be you. And so, Isabella Swan…" Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the golden irises were fiery with love and firm with determined steel. Then, he opened his mouth and murmured, "Will you marry me?"

As I sat there, staring down at Edward, two brief visions came to me. One was of me dressed in white, walking down an aisle to where he stood in a black tux, smiling down at me from an altar. The other was of a baby boy and girl; the boy was a brunette with gold eyes and the girl had golden hair and summer sky colored eyes.

There were no more questions.

I knew what my answer was.

"Yes," I whispered, smiling broadly as tears splashed down my face. "Yes, I'll marry you."

The smile that split Edward's face was like no other. In one fluid motion, he slipped the ring onto my finger and stood up, pulling me with him. Without missing a beat, he swept me into his arms, lifting me into the air and his lips descended on mine, kissing me through my joyous, teary laughter.

Author's Note: Interesting ending, right? Well, it took me a good month or two to finally pull this out with a lot of spare time and effort on my part. I am so glad I did this, and I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions about the plot, feel free to comment. Constructive criticism much appreciated! _**~RoxasAndEli.**_


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